Western Union Debuts New Payment Option for Amazon.com Shoppers in Peru

New way to pay allows customers to shop global, pay local

LIMA, Peru–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Western
Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency
money movement, today unveiled a new payment option that allows
Amazon.com customers in Peru to pay in local currency for their
Amazon.com purchases. The service is being offered initially in 10
countries – Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia,
Peru, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand – enabling customers who prefer
to pay in cash to shop Amazon.com’s vast product selection.

Western Union’s platform is powering Amazon’s new cross-border payment
option, called Amazon PayCode, by processing the complex foreign
exchange, settlement and money movement requirements for international
e-commerce transactions.

After selecting PayCode on the Amazon.com checkout page, customers will
be sent a code, along with instructions on how to pay in person at a
participating Western Union® agent location. The move by Western Union
and Amazon will provide greater access to online goods for customers who
have largely been excluded from e-commerce shopping due to lack of
accepted payment methods.

Expanding Customer Access and Closing the Payments Gap

Forrester Research estimates that cross-border shopping will represent
20% of e-commerce by 2022, with sales reaching $630 billion.1
Choice, quality and cost are the main motivations for customers to shop
online from overseas, but there are challenges and concerns about the
lack of payment options for those who prefer to pay in person or those
who do not have access to international credit cards or debit cards.

“We’re helping to unlock access to Amazon.com for customers who need and
want items that can only be found online in many parts of the world,”
said Khalid Fellahi, SVP and General Manager of Western Union Digital.
“This is a great example of two global brands innovating and
collaborating to bring customers more convenience and choice. In a world
where cross-border buyers and sellers are often located on different
continents and in completely different financial ecosystems, our
platform is ideally suited to solving the complexity of collecting local
currency and converting it into whatever currency merchants need on the
other end.”

“Amazon is committed to enabling customers anywhere in the world to shop
on Amazon.com, and a big part of that is to allow customers to pay for
their cross-border online purchases in a way that is most convenient for
them,” said Ben Volk, Director, Payment Acceptance and Experience at
Amazon. “Amazon PayCode leverages the reach of Western Union to make
cross-border online shopping a reliable and convenient experience for
customers who do not have access to international credit cards, or
prefer to pay in cash.”

Western Union’s cross-border, cross-currency money movement platform –
including a robust digital footprint, settlement, treasury and
compliance infrastructure, a vast global retail network of over half a
million locations, and the ability to send money to billions of accounts
and mobile wallets – sets the standard for international money movement.
With operations in more than 200 countries and territories, Western
Union’s platform processed an average of 34 transactions every second
and moved $300 billion in principal across 130 currencies in 2018.

Connecting the digital and physical worlds of money, Western Union’s
technology stack, APIs, foreign exchange and settlement engine, agent
network, anti-money laundering and fraud detection capabilities make it
one of the largest digital and physical money movers for consumers
around the globe. The company offers digital transactions in more than
50 countries and territories. Approximately 70% of Western Union’s
digital transactions globally now originate on mobile devices.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border,
cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects the
digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and
businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease,
and reliability. As of December 31, 2018, our global network includes
over 550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or
Orlandi Valuta branded services to move money around the world. With our
global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family,
friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support
economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.